My friend Mere was here the other weekend and she made a funny comment that I had to share. I guess I’ve been here long enough so I don’t notice, but she thought it was funny how all the men here tuck their shirts into their pants. Even if they are wearing a t-shirt and jeans, its tucked in. So, does that say something about the differences in cultural climate between Tennessee and Southern Cali?

One of my pet peeves is when people start entering the elevator before you have a chance to exit. In the building where I work, I am on a floor that has a lot of traffic due to the clinic located across the hall. 9 times out of 10 (and its happened 3 times today), I’ll be ready to get off at my floor, the door opens, and I nearly run into someone because a) they are either standing right where I would exit or b) they’ve already started coming in. To make matters worse, they usually get mad at ME because I ran into them. Ugh!

It was not so much “rain” as it was “a pitiful shower”. I got excited too early, I guess.

I never thought I’d be thankful for rain living in Tennessee, but it is definitely needed now. I’m glad it hasn’t come to water rationing, or anything like that, in the city. I grew up in So. Cal. and we had periods where we could only water our lawns at certain times of the day and could not water it so much that the water ran down the street. That was overuse. Anyway, glad it hasn’t come to that here, yet.

Meredith left yesterday and its back to reality for me! We had a great weekend, enjoyed some great food, and just had a great time together. Mere - you should still move to TN, even if you have that free school thing working out for you in LB. Love you!

I’m stealing the CBA headline from NIT to advertise a beautiful baby girl born on Mother’s Day! Miss Kaylee was born at 3:58 a.m. on Sunday, May 13

Do you ever feel like there are times in your life when you are on the verge of something great? And the anticipation of reaching that point kinda drives you insane? Well, I can honestly say I’m there right now in multiple arenas of my life. First and most superficially, my best friend is flying in from California to see me this weekend. It will be the first time I’ve seen her since my wedding and I’m so excited. Jason is going camping all next week, so she is going to keep me company this weekend.

Secondly, we are sooooo close to beginning the work on our house. We believe we have selected a contractor (we’re giving one other guy a chance to pitch his bid tomorrow, but we’re pretty sure who we’re going with) and we have secured the finances we need to begin (and hopefully complete) the job. Next week I plan on packing up a lot of the things we will need to move in order for the construction to take place and try to find appropriate places to store them. Jason and I have succumbed to the fact that we’ll be eating with paper plates and and plastic utensils for a few months. Wow. Thank goodness we have a spare bathroom and ample living space downstairs. We can even pull the futon out if we end up needing to sleep down there.

Lastly, my job is taking an exciting turn (I hope) toward becoming a Project Management position. My boss has been working on the change for quite a while, but it is finally official and we’re going over the details today. Basically, now my job title will reflect the work I’ve been doing, but also give me some added clout to take charge over some of the projects I’ve just sort of been helping with. It means more responsibility, but also a greater level of focus, and fortunately a promotion.

I understand it may be a cultural or regional saying, but could someone please explain to me the logic behind the phrase “slowing up”? I heard it on the radio this morning during the traffic report. Apparently the highways were “slowing up”. I mean, I understand it means things were getting slow, but why “up” and not “down”???

Jason and I have been planning to do some major remodeling to our main floor, including the kitchen, bathroom, and front area, and we’re just about ready to pick a contractor. We’ve interviewed and met with quite a few companies and solo contractors and have it narrowed it down to 3 main contenders. We’re hearing from the last one this week, then we’ll probably decide and close on our refinanced loan so we can pay the deposit.

So, what are we doing exactly? Well, first of all, we tearing down the front bedroom/office upstairs to join the dining room, reading room, and bedroom and make it all one big living space. That way we can move our TV and couches upstairs and have a higher ceiling and bigger space for relaxing and entertaining. To go along with that, we’re tearing down the wall between the dining room and kitchen and turning it into a half wall, with a counter that reaches out into the dining room. The kitchen will get all new cabinets, fixtures, prep sink, stove and granite countertops. The bathroom is going to be totally gutted and we’re going to extend it a little bit into the huge walk-in closet we have in our bedroom. We’ll have a tile walk-in shower and new fixtures throughout. Lastly, we’ll be putting in a deck off the side of the house that wraps around the back. We’ll have access to it from patio doors in the new living area, where the windows are now in our dining room.

All that to say its going to be a hell of a project. We’re still figuring out what to do with our fridge…if we should move it into our bedroom or move it downstairs. Most other stuff will go into the garage or downstairs in the “laundry room”. We’ll be eating lots of take-out and probably a few microwave dinners.

Open call to all those who have done major home remodeling….what is your advice as we embark on this adventure???

I just got the news that my aunt passed away last night in her sleep. The doctor came by and gave her morphine so she could sleep and her body said that was it. I’m sad, but I’m not surprised. I’m almost glad now that I went to see her because I think it prepared me more for this moment. No one could live in that condition for very long. Rest in peace, Aunt Peggy. We love you!